Going…

Where do you experience God?

For the longest time I would have answered that question the “right” way — in worship, in prayer, at church, serving others, doing what is right, and every once in a while in nature. I guess I had this idea that I had to be doing “God-stuff” in order to experience God. I’m sure that is somehow tied back into some Greek dualism idea, but I that gets too complicated really fast for me and makes my head hurt (like it did when I watched that Cloverfield movie). Personally, I think that most of us have been taught (by those that said they knew) that God is experienced in moments that are somehow special…holy in some way. And that holiness comes from a specific focus on doing God-stuff in God-ways so that we can feel better about ourselves.

Think about it.

We leave a “worship service” commenting on whether or not we felt “moved” or whether we were “in the Spirit.” We go on “mission trips” and come back saying how much we were “changed” because of the experience. We tend to schedule in God-feeling stuff so that we can somehow “charge our batteries” for our experience in the rest of life.

I sometimes wonder if God looks at us during those “God-times” and says to himself, “I wish they would cut through all of that BS and really get to know me.” (That sounds horrible but I think that out of all of the Beings in this existence that God should be allowed to call BS…BS!)

I’m reading a book right now that asked a question that has been rattling around in my spirit today. When you talk to God, where does the communication take place? Where do you focus? Where does the voice come from? Instinctually almost, I think that a majority of people (regardless of religious stripe) would say “up” and look to the sky. There is something other about God that makes him above our experience. But when I see God portrayed, particularly in the pages of the New Testament, he is sitting across the table from a friend or he is some kind of force that flows naturally from one person to another.

GOD IS LOVE.

So when I experience that which is good or that which would radiate love then I’m actually experiencing God. A hug from my kids. A kiss on the cheek and a pat on the rear end from my wife. A good meal with old friends and new ones. A student playing the piano during chapel showcasing a talent that I never knew she had. Any experience of the goodness in THIS life is an experience of God. A reflection of being made in His image.

When I see my day that way…when I seem my life that way, I begin to understand the idea of “prayer without ceasing” that I used to feel really guilty about. I experience all of life as grace even though it doesn’t always cross my mind that way (like this morning when that lady cut me off on the way to school). It is then that I understand what Paul was talking about when he said, “in him we live, and move, and have being.”

So I don’t go to church any more…it comes to me — all of the time.

Advertisements

Related

3 Responses to “Going…”

So that’s where you got that “Where is God when you talk to him?” comment in class the other day. I completely agree with people seeing church and other spiritual activities as “recharging their batteries”, which is why I’ve kind of pulled away from a lot of my religious activities and in some ways my beliefs. It’s just that there doesn’t seem to be any real substance in church or chapel anymore. Prayers seem more like chants instead of personal conversations with God. The idea of church being around us in small ways everyday is much more appealing to me, and that’s not just an excuse not to go.

Also, you can check out my page if you want. Don’t expect too much from it right now, it’s really just a couple of joke posts, but they could be amusing. I’ll get to posting more serious stuff in the future, but for now I’m just thinking of material. You should be able to tell who this is based on our conversation today and if I remember right, my information sheet at the beginning of the year….

this part of christianity always irked me. People talk about how they hear god working in their lives, they see his plans unfold. I used to pray quite earnestly as a matter of fact, but nothing ever came true. I realize that the things I prayed for were probably not in “god’s plan”, but would it really have been so much trouble to cure my mom of her MS? I mean right there I know 100% for sure that if my mom had been cured I would still be in church, and might have even convinced her to go with me. But alas if there is a god, his plan is probably for me to show the dc kids how anti-religious the world can be. I like to think of myself not as an example but more of a warning.

and still i like to think i have an open mind, and that if there is a god he is most likely acting in my life. I see the events of my life, and i think that either god is at work, or that the universe is absurd.